Todd Lynn in Africa? This is a combination that might seem decidedly odd at first, but when you know the other inspirations—Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now, and the artist Peter Beard—it begins to make more sense. The beauty and horror in Beard's work is an attraction for Lynn. The color washes that permeated his collection—decorative printed silks done in collaboration with the artist Marcus James—seemed a nod to the brushstrokes that often accompany Beard's photographs. Here, they made perfect sense as a beautiful motif.

In contrast, the sculpted silhouette of a Todd Lynn safari suit—the opening look of the show and the first few variations—felt a little more unsettling. The safari suit is always a little difficult to pull off, with the opposing images of Yves Saint Laurent and Daktari fighting for space in the collective consciousness. Add to that a particularly severe take on tailoring, and it can all get a little too much. Saying that, Lynn's trouser-cutting technique—here, long and lithe with a flare—is something the designer is known for, and was particularly good this season.

Yet sometimes it seems that Lynn is too in love with technique. In some of the other clothing, the school of tailoring that came to the fore in the late nineties seemed too stridently apparent. While it's clear that Lynn is capable of doing whatever he wants to with cloth, he doesn't always have to show it; it can work to his detriment. With some of these pieces, less would have been more.